ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the context of public administration in Sri Lanka, briefly surveying the sociopolitical backgrounds that influenced its origin and development. It focuses on fundamental rights included in the Constitution grants the legal right to any citizen of Sri Lanka to challenge the action of public administration in the courts seeking judicial remedies. The reform started in 1833 paved the way for gradual transformation of the civil administration of the government from “autocracy” to “bureaucracy”. The local administration was handled by a government agent appointed to each administrative province that was reorganized following the recommendations of the Colebrook-Cameron Commission. The establishment of the Department of Public Administration in 1970 further strengthened the politicians’ grip on the administrative system. Reforming the public administration was a persistent theme in Sri Lanka since independence. Teaching public administration as a discipline commenced in the 1970s when the country was in search of a more responsive and development-oriented public administration.
